


Reveille

by CactusPot



Category: Total Drama (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, POV Alternating, Soulmates, and i did not edit this after finishing imma just post it so we have more Content, i've been trying to write a good Jock fic for DAYS, oh yeah also Tangled is brought up bc Brick hums At Last I See The Light, this soulmate AU has been used on tiktok but i havent seen it anywhere else so idk if it has a tag, zoey and lightning talk a bunch but im not gonna tag them as major characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:46:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23799472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CactusPot/pseuds/CactusPot
Summary: After I win that million dollars, I’m gonna use it to track down this soulmate guy. Then I’m gonna beat him up, Jo thought. Heh. I wish soulmates could hear each other’s thoughts, too. That would really scare him off.If your soulmate has a song in their mind, that song gets stuck in your head.In this universe, Jo has been grumpy about her soulmate's music choice for weeks until she clues in during her stint on Revenge of the Island.
Relationships: Jo/Brick McArthur
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	Reveille

For the third time in a week, the song woke Jo up. When she checked her alarm clock, the time read 5:30.

Jo hit her temple several times. “Shut up in there!” she growled, despite knowing she had no way of fixing the problem. 

Knowing her soulmate was apparently obsessed with an old-fashioned bugle call soured Jo’s mood more than usual. 

“I’m not getting back to sleep, am I?” she muttered. 

Jo grabbed her phone from its spot on her night table. She googled ‘military bugle song’ and clicked on the first video link. Boom, she had a name for the song that tormented her mornings: “Reveille,” the French translation for “wake up.”

She checked her email. The producers from that reality TV show wrote back. The verdict: she’d be competing. 

Jo pumped her fist. “Reveille” continued playing in her mind.

 _After I win that million dollars, I’m gonna use it to track down this soulmate guy. Then I’m gonna beat him up_ , Jo thought. _Heh. I wish soulmates could hear each other’s thoughts, too. That would really scare him off._

* * *

At 13:14, “American Idiot” popped into Brick’s head during math class. He wasn’t entirely sure if it was his brain conjuring up the song, or if it was the doing of his soulmate. When he wrote it down in his little black journal, he added a star next to it.

Brick’s journal contained lots of things, including personal records for mile times and sit up competitions, detailed lists of workout routines, and a mini calendar of important dates, including one that would occur in two weeks’ time: filming for Total Drama season four. 

At the very end of the book was a list of all the times he’d gotten a song stuck in his head thanks to his soulmate.

Brick flipped through those several pages, which documented about fifty instances of songs since he’d started recording them a few months ago. A lot of entries had been penciled in as ??? before Brick had looked up the lyrics and written down the name.

The songs are overwhelmingly uptempo. Mostly alternative or pop rock. He enjoyed when the songs appeared during an exercise routine; his soulmate’s songs made a great workout playlist.

Brick tapped his pencil to “American Idiot” until the girl next to him told him to knock it off.

* * *

In Jo’s opinion, Camp Wawanakwa was stuffed to the brim with stupid people and lazy competitors. The cast had been on the island for two days, and her roommates were beginning to annoy her.

“Yesterday after dinner, I got some Russian folk music stuck in my head,” Zoey babbled as she brushed her hair. “I’m assuming that was from my soulmate. You guys can hear it too, right?”

“Yea, but my guy has better taste than Russian folk music.” Anne Maria’s disdain for the genre was evident as she sprayed her poof.

“What about you, Jo?” Typical Zoey. Jo had noticed early on how desperate the redhead was to make friends.

Sitting on her bed and lacing her shoes, Jo shrugged noncommittally. “I try to tune that junk out.”

_The less I tell these people, the less they have to hold over me._

Zoey sighed as she pulled her hair into two short ponytails. “What are the chances someone meets their soulmate on Total Drama?”

“Have you _seen_ the guys here?” Anne Maria practically gagged. “I’d pass on all of ‘em.”

Jo, who was not keen on dating but very keen on insulting people, agreed with her.

“Aw, I dunno,” Zoey said bashfully. “Mike’s kinda cute.”

“He’d be cuter if he grew an eight pack and slicked back his hair,” Anne Maria suggested. “Alright, I’m goin’ to the washroom.”

She strutted out, leaving Zoey and Jo together.

“And _I’m_ going on a run,” Jo said before Zoey tried to befriend her again.

Right as she left, another stupid military song popped into her head. Jo groaned.

* * *

“ _Hmmm hmm hm hmm_.” Brick hummed as he jogged. As he picked up his pace, he stayed on the lookout for Jo. They had slammed right into each other yesterday, and he didn’t intend to repeat that accident.

As luck would have it, Jo appeared moments later, frowning as usual.

“Jo!” he waved amicably.

Jo wasn’t having it. “Step aside, Soggy McGhee.”

Brick’s cheeks reddened involuntarily. He coughed. “Anything upsetting the second most athletic person on the Maggots?”

Jo skidded to a halt. She eyed him warily. “For your information, the _most_ athletic person on the Maggots has a ridiculous song stuck in her head.”

“Oh, rough. Is it from your soulmate?” Brick’s soulmate’s songs were never ridiculous or annoying, at least, not more annoying than any song of his own choosing. He either liked them or found them tolerable.

Jo glared at Brick. “Don’t talk to me.”

Brick saluted at her and resumed his jog.

* * *

They sat next to each other at breakfast, if only because Mike and Zoey were engrossed in a conversation about waffles and Anne Maria was talking Cameron’s ear off. They thumb wrestled during the challenge to decide the Maggots’ leadership. Afterwards, when they were drinking their McLean brand hot chocolate, Jo elbowed him.

“You didn’t do half bad today, soldier,” she quipped with less barb than usual.

“Thank you.” Brick saluted immediately. His jerky movements caused a few drops of hot chocolate to slosh out of his mug. Jo laughed while Brick inspected the stains on his shirt.

“It’ll wash out,” he said confidently.

“Whatever you say, Brick-for-brains,” Jo responded. 

When they were returning to camp. Zoey, and Cameron walked ahead of them, whispering sullenly; Anne Maria pestered Mike a few steps behind.

Absentmindedly, Jo started whistling a song one of her gym lackeys from back home had recommended. At the same time. Brick pulled a notebook out of his back pocket and started writing.

“What the heck is that?” Jo asked. “If you bring your diary everywhere, I just might have to read it.”

“It’s not a diary,” Brick insisted. “I just keep meticulous notes on various subjects.”

“Sheesh, I thought you were a jock, not a nerd.” Jo rolled her eyes. “You should keep that thing in your room from now on. Wouldn’t want to lose it in the woods.”

“Excellent advice. And when you’re in the military, it’s important to be organized.” Brick finished writing and put the journal away. “I’ve been listing my soulmates’ songs in this journal for the past three months. Just got another song stuck in my noggin, so I wrote it down.”

“Ugh, gag,” Jo said. 

“You’re not interested in figuring out your soulmate?” Brick asked. 

“Hel- _lo_? We’re on a reality TV competition for the next two weeks,” Jo pointed out sourly. “No way I’m gonna meet my soulmate anytime soon. There’s no point in bothering.”

“Fair point, ma’am,” Brick admitted. He started humming along to an eerily familiar tune.

Jo said, “Cut that out.”

He did.

* * *

The next morning, Jo woke up to “Reveille” again. When she opened her eyes and rolled over, she found herself staring at Zoey.

“What are _you_ doing awake this early?” Jo snapped.

Zoey yawned. “Brick’s alarm clock woke me up.”

Jo knew. She knew immediately but she still asked, “Is that what’s playing the stupid army march?”

Zoey nodded.

Jo hopped out of bed with vigor that startled Zoey. “No no no no!”

“Are you okay?” Zoey asked wearily.

“Mind your own business!” Jo said angrily.

“Hey!” Anne Maria cut in from her top bunk. “Some of us are _tryin’_ to sleep here!”

Jo bustled out the door and ran into the guys’ side of the cabin immediately.

“Jo?” asked a dazed Mike. “What are _you_ doing here?”

“Chris wants us all down at the mess hall, _pronto_!” Jo shouted. “Don’t ask questions!”

Mike and Cameron, eager-to-please do-gooders, hurried out of their cabin without a second glance.

Now alone, Jo rummaged through Brick’s belongings. She gagged over his smelly boots but eventually found what she was looking for: his black journal.

She flipped through it until she got to the end pages. In neat print, Brick had written “Soulmate Songs” at the top of the log.

Every single song on the list meant something to Jo. Most were on her workout playlists, and some were just radio diddies that had weaseled their way into her memory. Either way, she knew all the lyrics.

Jo kicked the journal under the guys’ dresser and hurried out. The door slammed shut behind her. 

She glared at the beach in the distance. Brick was doing crunches in the sand. What an idiot.

She wasn’t going to tell him.

* * *

The orange pack weighed heavy on Brick as he slid down into the mine. Lightning and Jo weighed heavier still as they followed him down and crushed his spine.

The jar of fireflies slipped out of his hands and onto the cold rock floor.

“Aw man! Nice going, Butterfingers!” Lightning hollered, still standing on Brick’s limp form.

Jo jumped into action. “Quick! We have to catch our lightsource!”

“Wait!” Brick groaned, looking frantically at his teammates. 

“Losers wait!” Lightning snapped. He pointed at Jo, who was picking up the empty jar. “Me and him gotta go!”

Jo glanced back at Brick, and for a second he could’ve sworn he saw sympathetic regret in her steely blue eyes. 

_The dark’s playing tricks on me_ , he thought.

“Try to catch up,” Lightning yelled as he and Jo sprinted away into the darkness.

“Come back!” Brick pleaded with their retreating figures. 

_Get a grip, Brick. You can survive a mine_ , he thought.

“I, I am bigger than the dark,” he stammered. “I am b-better than the dark.” The last of the fireflies’ light disappeared along with any positivity he had harbored. “I am lost and alone in the dark!”

* * *

Rage was Jo's primary fuel at this point. How _dare_ her soulmate be someone so incompetently resolute? She almost felt _guilty_ leaving Brick alone in the dark.

 _He’s got to go_ , she thought. _Talk about a distraction_.

The fireflies clustered around Lightning’s brainless head, and she shoved the jar on top of him. 

“Looking good, _Lightsource_.” Jo cackled with amusement.

When their badges turned orange, Jo’s level of concern rose slightly.

“You’ve only got fifteen seconds to live!” Lightning gasped.

“Well, so do you!” she pointed at Lightning’s own orange badge.

Melodramatic as usual, Lightning threw his hands up. “No. This ain’t right! Man, I never kissed a superbowl ring.”

“And I’ve never kissed a guy,” Jo lamented. _Funny how you have absolutely no interest in romance until you go on a reality show, meet your soulmate, and get stranded in a mine._

Lightning shot her a weird look. “Uh, yeah. That’s cool dude. Lightning don’t judge.”

Lightning’s idiocy dissolved all of Jo’s sappy concern.

“If my soulmate _had_ to be someone on this frickin’ show,” she muttered below her breath, “I’m glad it’s Brick and not Lightning.”

“What’d you say?” Lightning hollered.

“Nothing! Shut up!” she snapped back.

There was a song in her head. For once, Brick wasn’t thinking about some stupid bugle. Instead, the melody was soft, comforting… romantic?

Jo started cackling as she realized what she was listening to.

“What’s so funny?” Lightning asked curiously.

Should she expose Brick? “Um, remember that dumb princess movie that came out a few years back? The one with Rapunzel singing about how she sees lights and stuff?”

“Yeah. I took my little cousin to see it.” Lightning scratched his head.

“My soulmate has that song stuck in his head right now.” _I would totally tease Brick about this if I could._

“Man, a guy that likes princess songs? What a loser!” Lightning said.

“Eh, he’s not _too_ bad most of the time,” Jo shrugged noncommittally. “Let’s go find him—I mean Brick! let’s go find Brick.”

* * *

The good news for Brick was that he had light now. The bad news: the blind mutant gophers had taken him captive. Currently he hung from the mouth of one while Jo and Lightning hung from the jaws of the other two.

At least singing “At Last I See The Light” had calmed his frayed nerves for a while.

Despite the dire situation, Jo kept looking at him and smirking.

“What?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing,” she replied casually.

“No seriously. Is there something on my face?” He put his hands to his cheeks and felt nothing abnormal.

“Seen any good movies recently?”

“That’s crazy,” Lightning said. “Jo and I were just talking about that Rapunzel movie.”

“Lightning!” Jo griped. Before Brick could comment on the coincidence, the Maggots arrived.

Brick tossed his boot to distract the gophers. Jo uncapped the fireflies on Lightning’s head, and the three Rats fell to the ground.

Lightning made a mad dash for the McLean statue. Brick stared at Jo, the wheels of his mind turning.

“Jo!” he yelled excitedly. “We’re soulmates!”

“What?” Jo whipped around to face him. “How’d you figure that out!” 

At that moment, Chris instructed everyone to remove their orange packs.

Brick took off his backpack. “You and Lightning were just talking about Rapunzel while _I_ was singing a song from that movie.”

“As soon as we get topside I am going to bully you _so hard_ for that,” Jo said as they started running for the minecarts. “And that ‘Reveille’ crap, too. You kept waking me up at 5 in the morning!”

“Stop having personal conversations and sha-get the statue!” Lightning hollered as he tied up Ezekiel.

Brick picked up the statue, but his next question was addressed to Jo. “Wait, how long have you known?” 

Jo jumped into the minecart. “Don’t worry about that! Get in!”

As he was about to jump in, Brick turned and glanced at Zoey, Mike, and Cam. They were struggling to hold off one of the gophers.

“Brick? Brick!” Jo snapped. “Forget those rejects. We have to go!”

He wordlessly handed the McLean statue to Jo and scurried off to help his teammates.

“Brick!” Jo’s fury echoed through the entire cavern.

* * *

The next few minutes hosted a slew of miracles. Miracle A: Every single camper escaped the mine without injury. Miracle B: Even though both teams returned with a McLean statue, Chris gave victory to the Rats. Miracle C: Jo didn’t kill Brick where he stood.

“I told you not to go back!” They were down at the docks. Brick dangled his feet in the water while Jo paced. “You disobeyed a direct order from your captain!”

Brick, attempting to be the calm to her rage, replied, “I wasn’t going to abandon my friends to die. In addition, may I point out we won the challenge? I don’t see why you’re upset.”

“Because you almost _died_ , Brick.”

“We _all_ almost died.” He splashed around the water. “Chris just likes to make us kill each other for ratings.”

“That’s not the point.” Jo folded her arms.

In an attempt to de-escalate the situation, Brick said, “You have a good taste in music, ma’am.”

Jo rolled her eyes and sat down criss cross applesauce next to him. “Most of it’s workout stuff, songs my buddies recommend to me, blah blah blah.

“You, on the other hand, keep me awake at night.”

“My sincerest apologies,” Brick said, “but I won’t do a single thing about it.”

Jo glared at him. “Are you kidding?”

“Maybe you should start at 5:30 training regime like I do.” Brick puffed out his chest. Jo’s response was to shove him into the lake.

“Hey!” he spit out a mouthful of water. Jo grinned.

“Sorry, sorry.” She offered a hand to help him up. Instead he pulled her into the lake with him.

“Jerk!” There was a hesitant smile on her face as she splashed him. 

“You started it,” he answered.

Jo shrugged. “I guess.” Then she added, “I’m still mad at you, you know.”

“I figured,” Brick responded. “So, uh, what now?”

Jo sighed forcefully. “I _guess_ I can take you with me to the final two or something. Right before I beat you to a pulp.”

“You mean when _I_ use my cadet training to outsmart you and take home the million.” Brick grinned. Jo didn’t.

“If you beat me, I will have to break up with you.” She hauled herself out of the water.

“That implies we were dating in the first place!” Brick called after her. He flopped onto the dock like a wet fish.

“Yeah, well. Don’t hurt your chances by helping the other team, Brick-for-brains.” She began the walk back to camp to dry off.

He started humming ‘Reveille’ in his head. Jo whipped around and glared daggers at him.

“I _will_ kill you if you do that again.”

“Semper fi!” Brick said.

**Author's Note:**

> And then they got to the final two and split the money. :')  
> I want everyone to know I've spent like a week rewatching the same seven ROTI episodes just so I can watch Jo and Brick flirt.


End file.
